The credit crunch, insolvency, debt, Bear Stearns, repossession, inflation, sub-prime. All of these words are enough to cause palpitations in even the toughest! As the western world deals with a financial crisis, many normal people are feeling the squeeze and what is worse, it is causing them anxiety and stress.
And I don’t just mean worry, financial anxiety is very real and it can actually hinder people from making the decisions and thinking about the things they need to change.
Financial anxiety is in fact like any other kind of anxiety. Our primeval protections mechanisms are kicking in exactly when we don’t need them, exactly when a cool calm head is the order of the day. This is typical of anxiety and all the normal advice for anxiety including mindfulness meditation is the order of the day.
But wait, don’t fly headlong into therapy or start to spend money on get rich quick schemes are get over anxiety programmes. Instead, try and combat what your body is riling against. Often anxiety is about a lack of control, and in financial anxiety it is likely to be the same. After all, you feel that your house, your security, your life is in the hands of faceless suits in London or Washington, managers at mortgage companies and banking staff.
Your best bet is to take as much control as you can, and that means doing something not nothing. Open every line of communication you can. Seek advice from support groups like the Citizens Advice Bureau in the UK or the various debt advice agencies available in the USA (check with your local library or town hall). Become an expert, ask questions on forums, read books. And don’t be afraid to ask for pay raises and look for new jobs.
The best things will come to those who are striving for them in this environment. But of course you must beware of vagabonds – vultures always prey on the desperate.
Actually, if it all goes wrong financially it doesn’t mean it is the end of your life. The old sayings are true, money is not happiness, you can still go on to be happy and get back on your feet financially, if you start to live and love more mindfully.
What’s more, in the course of your life financial worries will probably come and go.
